The Plays of Sankaradeva: Introduction, Life and Works, all his Six Plays With Transliterated Text and English Translation

Sankaradeva (1449-1568), composed the six plays called the Ankiya Natas in Brajavali language during the 15th – 16th century Assam for the propagation of the Vaisnava cult, known as the Eka Sarana Nama Dharma. The book gives a faithful representation of the texts of all the six plays of Sankaradeva, in transliteration along with their English translation for the first time.

The Neo-Vaisnavite movement initiated by Sankaradeva (1449-1568) was not merely a religious movement, but was also a cultural movement which had far-reaching impact on literature, song, dance as well as abhinaya and drama. He composed six plays called the Ankiya Natas in Brajavali language during the 15th-16th century Assam for the propagation of the Vaisnava cult, known as the Eka Sarana Nama Dharma. This book gives a faithful representation of the texts of all the six plays of Sankaradeva, in transliteration along with their English translation for the first time.

Ankiya Nata is a special genre which includes only the six plays of Sankaradeva and a few of Madhavadeva. These plays were the first written form of vernacular drama in India and the first formal prose in Brajavali language in Assam. The stories in the plays are the bona fide representations from the original Vaisnava scriptures. The sutradhara, is a unique creation of the composer. The slokas, the songs and particularly the bhatimas, are specimen of some most beautiful poetic compositions. A brief analysis of the plays, their characteristics, various components, art of presentation in the form of bhaona are also given in the book. For better understanding the purpose of composition of the plays, the social, political and religious conditions prevalent at that time, a short history of the life of Sankaradeva and his various contributions along with an introductory note on the Vaisnava Movement in Assam are also given.

For all those people engaged in studies on Indology, Language, Religion, Bhakti Cult, Bhakti Literature, Comparative Literature, Lives of Saints or Hagiographies, Culture Studies, Studies of the North-East India and most importantly Drama and other performing art forms like Songs and Dances this book will be a valuable reference.